April 2009 MMA News Archive - Page 9

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The weigh-ins for UFC 97 have just been completed. Both Anderson Silva and Thales Leites made weight with Silva coming in at 182, but prelim fighter David Bielkheden missed weight. He has some extra time to drop 1 pound to get to the limit.

He's the scariest guy in the UFC. Between his entrance song and his devastating finishing power (all eight UFC wins by KO or submission), no one else oozes that feeling that something bad is going to happen to his opponent like Anderson Silva yet the 34-year-old UFC middleweight champ doesn't do much talking and isn't very intimidating outside the cage.

The latest UFC/MMA legend to make a recent return to fighting is Don Frye. He'll return to action at Shark Fight Promotion's Shark Fight 4 event in Texas on May 2. No, he won't be fighting sharks-his opponent is 7-2 Rich Moss.

From MMA to MM-Eh now to Le UFC...at yesterday's UFC 97 Press Conference, Dana White revealed that the next stop on UFC's European expansion after Germany is France. Although no date is set Dana says they're next after Germany in June. France does not regulate MMA but an official ban was lifted in '08 and a show there could be overseen by UFC and, more specifically, UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner, the former head of the NSAC.

At yesterday's pre-UFC 97 Press Conference, Dana White backed down off statements made last month about Chuck Liddell perhaps being done after tomorrow's fight against Mauricio Rua, even if Liddell impresses. Now Dana says Chuck will be with UFC until Dana is "dead".

Carmichael Dave: You really need to stop with this Fedor stuff. Jeez…
Dana White: Stop what? He is far from the pound-for-pound best in the world!
Carmichael Dave: Dana, the dude (Emelianenko) has never lost (ed. note: other than a cut stoppage early in his career that was later avenged with a first round TKO)….If you signed him tomorrow, you’d be swinging on those nuts….come on!
Dana White: You have to consistently fight the best in the world in order to get my respect.
Carmichael Dave: He consistently beat 3 UFC Heavyweight Champion’s asses: Noguiera twice, Andrei Arlovski, and Tim Sylvia.

“I did the UFC a favor and fought Jardine because Rashad wouldn’t fight me; that’s why I fought Jardine, because I was supposed to fight Rashad after the fight with Wanderlei. Since Rashad got a big mouth and got in my face, you already know who I want to fight. I’m thinking it might be a boring fight, but what do I know?”

If you know how, please tell Josh Barnett. The top-ranked MMA Heavyweight, who is also the cornerman of Japanese female fighter Hitomi Akano, feels the victory by Cristiane Santos over Akano at SF's 4/11 event was "hollow" and that Santos deserves "no respect" and no praise.

A few years back, a showdown between Chuck Liddell and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua would have been a fight fan’s dream matchup. Liddell was the defending UFC light heavyweight champion and at the top of his game while laying out opponents like kitchen tile. Rua was on a meteoric rise through Pride Fighting Championships’ ranks, rivaling Liddell’s fistic floor masonry in Japan. Before Zuffa bought out Pride, it seemed like a full-scale tilt between these two explosive knockout artists would never materialize.
Thankfully the fight will finally come to fruition this Saturday at UFC 97 in Montreal, but like Liddell’s stellar conquest of Rua’s former Chute Boxe teammate Wanderlei Silva, the matchup is being purchased off the shelf a few years after its expiration date. Looking at his most recent bouts, Liddell’s age appears to be catching up to him and the 39-year-old icon just might be a bit past his fighting prime.
Rua, 27, has had a rocky transition to the cage, where his stamina has been harshly tested. Once feared for his heavy, looping punches, Liddell has been knocked out at the hands of Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans in the last two years. Rua was soundly beaten by Forrest Griffin and nearly suffocated in a near hilarious, though triumphant, scuffle with fighting fossil Mark Coleman.
Luckily for the fans though, Liddell-Rua should still be an all-out war, a skirmish that could wind up being a “fight of the year” candidate when all is said and done. Will Liddell’s experience and hunger to recapture his title, along with a new striking coach, earn him another highlight-reel knockout? Will Rua have made the necessary adjustments to avoid exahaustion and finally get on the tear that UFC fans expected from him from the start?
Many professional trainers and fighters think they have the answer to those questions. Sherdog.com recently polled dozens of the pros in an attempt to get a read on the pulse of the MMA elite. Some were a little hesitant to comment on the fight, but the brave ones put their names and reputations on the line and boldly picked a winner.

But this time it's not Anderson Silva or anyone from UFC. According to GracieFighter.com, Jones is being called out for a boxing match by Strikeforce's Nick Diaz. Such a fight is more likely to happen than a Silva-Jones fight because SF is more flexible about letting their guys fight elsewhere and because of their alliance with Showtime-a network that regularly shows boxing. UFC of course has neither.

Want to hear something totally insane and probably not true? That was a rhetorical question. Of course you want to hear this. According to a Croatian newspaper article translated for us by Robert of betwwx.com, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s next bout will be this July in an Affliction/Dream co-promotional event full of all kinds of fights that only sort of make sense.
look i dont know if this is a rumor only or could actually happen. take it for what its worth.

Strikeforce may be about to put out the "Now Hiring" sign for the job of matchmaker. Previous matchmaker Javier Mendez has quit the promotion effective immediately, citing no longer being able to be both a matchmaker and a trainer at Arizona Kickboxing Academy (AKA). No immediate word yet on plans for finding a replacement.

UFC 98 is now again officially complete with the official announcement that Brock Larson will replace the injured Josh Koscheck and face Chris Wilson. As a result of this change, the Larson-Wilson fight has been dropped from PPV to prelim, with James Irvin vs. Drew McFedries promoted to PPV as the replacement.

Now the UFC 100 fight between Mark Coleman & Stephan Bonnar is official following the NSAC granting Coleman a one-fight license. As a rule, all fighters over the age of 35 have to contact the commission to discuss any concerns that they may have. Coleman appeared before the NSAC in person and discussed the concerns with NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer and other Commission members.

PDG: UFC 97 in Montréal, Canada is a pretty stacked card; what fights are you looking forward to seeing that night?
Quarry: Any time that you get a chance to fight on a card with Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva, it is a real treat. I have been a fan of Chuck's for a long time and we are also friends. So being able to be there and to say I fought on the same card as Chuck Liddell is a real honor. That is something that I will always remember.

UFC, PRIDE and Strikeforce veteran – and co-host of MMAjunkie.com Radio – Frank Trigg (19-6) is currently on a four-fight win streak, yet he doesn't know where or when his next bout will take place.
But on Wednesday's edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio), Trigg identified one opponent he believes would be easy prey: Strikeforce middleweight Frank Shamrock (23-10-2).
"They can have me fight him any time they want up there," Trigg said. "Put it back at 180 (pounds) again, and I'll put him into retirement. It's not that difficult. Frank Shamrock's only got like two or three fights left in his life."
Trigg fought once for the California-based organization, defeating Falaniko Vitale in October 2008. The 36-year-old said he would love the opportunity to return to the organization in a chance to prove just how far Shamrock has fallen in recent defeats to Nick Diaz and Cung Le.
"How much [expletive] can you talk to Frank Shamrock?" Trigg asked. "He's not that good. The sport has passed him by.
"Do you really want to be seen training on Lamaze balls? Is that really what you want to do? That's what he does. Half of his techniques are done on Lamaze balls. I'm like, 'OK. That's really interesting. That's great. Who's teaching you your takedown defense?'"
Trigg questioned Shamrock's commitment to preparation for his April 11 main event with Diaz at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
"You live in [expletive] San Jose," Trigg said. "There's like 75 great wrestlers that live right down the street from you. You don't train with any of them? That doesn't make any sense to me.
"You're a great striker, you're incredibly athletic, you have a great ability to talk before the fights, you've got a great ability to sell the fight. But then you're striking hasn't changed. Your ability, your flexibility, your ability to hit your punches hasn't changed. You haven't learned – knowing full well against a guy who's going to do takedowns – how to stop a takedown and how to keep it on your feet where you would have had a shot to win.
"But then, you're on your feet and you got out-punched by a jiu-jitsu guy. It doesn't make any sense."
While Trigg's career has been filled with bouts against the world's top competitors, he last fought in a unanimous-decision win against an unheralded Danny Babcock. While the win certainly wasn't a career-builder, Trigg insists Shamrock's current 1-3 streak proves he's no longer relevant.
"The sport's just passed [Shamrock] by," Trigg said. "It's the same thing I said to Ken (Shamrock). It's the same thing I said to Mark Coleman. It's the same thing I said to Tito Ortiz: The sport has passed you by.
"You haven't adjusted. You haven't learned. You haven't spent the time being in the academy every day trying to learn. You're out there [expletive] around doing other stuff when you're not training. It's not smart anymore for this sport...